Chapter 21 - Haru

"Aiden jerked me off last night." I couldn't help myself and whispered the words under my breath. His large, warm hand had touched me, intimately, rubbing me and…

My heart skipped and my face heated up.

"Shit!"

What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to face him?

I sat up straight, my mind in a daze as I shifted my gaze to the place where my crotch was beneath the duvet. Again, the image of Aiden—so close to me, hugging me, and with his hand wrapped firmly around my penis—came into my mind's eye and I felt breathless.

Fuck! If I let my mind wander off any longer, I knew I'd be in deep shit.

I snapped myself out of the stupor and flipped the duvet off me. Then I got out of bed and headed for the door.

I needed a cold drink to clear my head, I decided. Then I'd shower and get myself ready for the day. I'd pretend whatever had happened last night between Aiden and me had never happened.

With that plan in mind, I opened the door. I was just about to head over to the kitchen when I noticed someone standing in the middle of the corridor, watching me.

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, since I was kind of still half-asleep. The moment I saw Aiden and our eyes met, my heart skipped a few beats and I freaked out.

I felt my cheeks burning hot, and without thinking, I turned on my heel and rushed back into my bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind me.

Alone, and with Aiden out of sight, I took a deep breath. God, I was so not ready to see him this early in the morning, especially after last night.

With weak knees, I crawled back into bed and hid myself again under the duvet, thinking how stupid I had acted a moment ago when I saw Aiden.

It was around nine when a few knocks came at the door. "Haru?"

I sighed in relief when I heard Reo's voice, and not Aiden's.

I said, "Come in."

The door opened, and Reo came into the room. He leaned his tall, muscular body against the frame as he stated, "Time to get up, shrine maiden." He even sported a cheeky smile to annoy me.

I said, "I am up." I gave a good stretch as I let out a big yawn.

Reo said, "Hurry up and get ready. You're going shopping with me today. We have a lot to do."

"For the party?"

Reo nodded.

I thought for a moment and then asked, "Is anyone else coming?"

Reo shrugged his broad shoulders. "Everyone is busy and you're the only one free. You are free, right?"

I'd preferred to have today to recover from yesterday's work, but I guess keeping myself busy by helping Reo shop would probably help to take my mind off Aiden.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm free."

Reo gave me one of his rare smiles. "Good boy." With that, he was gone.

After giving out another yawn, I got off the bed and went about searching for a set of clean clothes. Once I'd found them, I headed out the door and rushed straight into the bathroom, thankful no one was around, especially Aiden.

I did quick work with my showering and dressing up, and once done, I went into the open-plan kitchen-living area to have my breakfast. Apparently, everyone had had theirs, and I was the last one. Reo had just started cleaning the dishes as I sat down to gobble what was left on the table, which wasn't much, just a bit of scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast.

"Where's everyone?" I asked, since I didn't hear any voices along the corridor as I came into the kitchen. They were usually loud, those stepbrothers of mine, especially Isaac.

Reo said, "Out."

"I see." I returned my attention to my food.

Once I was done eating some ten minutes later, I passed the dishes to Reo and then helped him put the clean ones away.

"Done?" Reo asked as I placed the last of the plates back into the cupboard.

I nodded.

"Let's go," he said.

So far so good, I thought, as Reo locked the front door of our apartment and then we headed down the stairs. We were at the main entrance of the complex when a very recognizable car smoothly appeared and stopped right in front of us.

My heart skipped a few beats and my throat became dry when I saw Aiden in the driver's seat.

"Get in," Reo said, giving me a nudge on my back between my shoulder blades.

What? But I thought Aiden wasn't going to be around!

"Get in, Haru," Aiden said, which made me jump in my spot.

Shit! Aiden just spoke to me, like it was completely normal, as if last night hadn't happened.

My heart now racing, I moved over and got into the back seat, while Reo took the front.